The DC Old Review Crossover Special
Article by Sean Wilkinson,
a.k.a. The Ticketmaster
Apologies for the low resolution on some of the images here, Ticketholders!
I recently re-watched City Island, and I stand by a lot of what I said in my review. Some of the subject matter and tropes (fat-shaming/fetishization, the "liar revealed" plot, certain actors) haven't aged well socially or cinematically, but Andy Garcia and his character are still high points for me.
That said, seeing a young Ezra Miller (also the titular school shooter in We Need to Talk About Kevin) wearing a red-and-gold sweatshirt (foreshadowing of his role in the DCU as The Flash?) and playing a teenager with a Big, Beautiful Women/feeder fetish who spends most of City Island spying on an overweight porn star and casually stalking his would-be girlfriend? Well...let's just say I gained some understanding of Ezra Miller's recent behavior.
And speaking of actors with questionable-to-repugnant reputations who starred in DC projects, and normal people with dated opinions, I thought I would share some of my old Piece Offerings and Stay Tuned content that never made it onto Just the Ticket, beginning with a newsletter I wrote as part of an assignment for one of my college English classes at SDSU. It addresses one of the first forms of commercially sold digital media (a topic I also addressed in Back & Forth #5: A Bad Teacher on Stranger Tides): the DVD/Digital Download release of Superman Returns, which featured Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. The newsletter is FROM December 10, 2006, but will be featured here as
NPO #19: Are Wal-Mart & Superman Changing the Face Of Movies?
With the DVD release of Superman Returns on November 28 of this year, Wal-Mart has embraced the digital revolution by offering a full-length, downloadable version of the film. Shoppers can now not only purchase the DVD itself, but also have the ability to download a full-length copy of Superman Returns for a few dollars more. As of now, this is only an optional bonus for Wal-Mart customers who buy this particular DVD; is there a possibility that what was once a special offer (one that is currently unique to Superman Returns and Wal-Mart) could make physical media obsolete? I think not.
Kevin Swint, divisional merchandise manager for digital media at Wal-Mart, says there are plans to offer the DVD/download option for more movies in the future. But what some people view as the death of the DVD, others—like Swint—see as a chance for movie fans to broaden the spectrum of ways to watch their favorite flicks. Wal-Mart offers downloadable versions of the film for portable media devices such as cell phones and video iPods, not just PCs and laptops. This bonus download offer is not meant to take the DVD (or its bonus material) away from consumers. Rather, its purpose is to ensure that consumers are not limited to watching movies at home.
True, there are those who would purchase the DVD and the PC-compatible download, obtain the file, and get a full refund on the DVD, thereby owning a full-length copy of a new movie for next to nothing that could still be burned to DVD. But I repeat myself: the DVD is not a dead, or even a dying, product.
There is something more to a DVD than audiovisual data encoded on a disc; with or without the actual movie, a DVD is a work of art. A consumer who sees a DVD in its jacket, with cover art, synopsis, credits, player compatibility information, a special feature listing, and other evidence of its authenticity, knows that he/she is paying a fairly reasonable price for a quality product. When the consumer becomes a viewer, he/she will feel the satisfaction and comfort associated with the ritual of getting up, walking to their DVD player, opening the jacket, taking out the disc, putting it in the machine, and sitting down again to watch the movie on as big a TV screen as they can afford.
Buying a real DVD with all the trimmings and trappings satisfies a person’s desire to own something slightly significant to him or her. That the cover art and information on the jacket are uniquely associated with the contents of the disc inside the jacket only accentuates the importance of the product to its owner.
On the other hand, if someone were to purchase the DVD solely for the purpose of acquiring its digital counterpart so he/she could have an almost-free movie, as with the customer I first described, the only satisfaction in doing so would be that of saving money so as to invest in something else that is more important to them. Having burned the movie to DVD, this theoretical viewer will still feel the satisfaction of ritual. He/she may even decide to write the movie’s title on the DVD and buy a jewel case to put it in, making it somewhat singular. But where is the cover art? Where is the plot? The cast and crew? The information that says “this movie is widescreen, 97 minutes long, has Dolby Digital Surround Sound, and can only be played on a basic DVD player”? Go to a video store with that particular movie in stock and look at its cover for the answers. You get what you pay for, and if you pay next to nothing to make yourself a bootlegged DVD, you will end up with something that means nothing to you, no matter how you dress it up.
Furthermore, if you dress up your bootlegged movie with a nice, durable jewel case and identify it with a hand-written title, it just isn’t dressed up properly. Image means everything in advertising, even to those who already own what is being advertised. That is why DVDs have pictures and names of movie stars on their jackets. Famous faces and names appeal most to people who recognize them. So if more people are familiar with a certain actor or actress, there are more people who would be willing to pay for a DVD or go to a theatre to watch a film featuring that movie star.
As I mentioned before, quality means a lot to the consumer. A good actor or director (or even a quote from a well-known film critic) is evidence that the movie in which they are featured was not only worth the hard work invested in it by the cast and crew, but could also be worth the twenty or thirty dollars someone would have to pay for the authentic DVD upon it’s release. Films such as Scary Movie, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, and War of the Worlds (two critically un-acclaimed movies and one author’s pick) would illustrate otherwise, but for the most part, I have found this to be true.
And whether or not the movie itself is “good,” having a celebrity or two on the jacket makes that movie stand out more to prospective and current owners alike. Let’s assume for a moment that instead of a jacket covered with celebrities, creative titles in flashy fonts, and plot information, every DVD was faced with a hand-written title and packaged in a jewel case with no identifying marks other than a sticker on the spine (also featuring the movie’s title, handwritten). And suppose this handwriting was all done by the same person. Certainly, every movie is unique because the data encoded on each disc is unique. But if the only way of identifying a DVD is by title (no copyright date or genre information is provided), what about movies with the same title? Someone who wants the original The Longest Yard may end up buying the Adam Sandler re-make. Duplicate titles aside, labeling every movie with the same style of handwriting does not make any one DVD stand out among the rest, any more than does a lack of star power on the cover.
Some (like the reporters of CBS news, who have failed to report the whole story as I give it to you here) say the DVD could be a dying format; that downloadable movie files may eventually make physical media obsolete. But there are several issues with digital media that DVD consumers may not be willing to live with. Video files are valueless once purchased because they can be copied multiple times without losing their audiovisual quality (they do, however, lose their singularity). Video files that are duplicated for availability on file-sharing services vary in quality, and with similar filenames, finding the highest quality movie is akin to searching through the hand-labeled DVD collection mentioned above. There is no ritual satisfaction (or at least not the same kind or to the same degree as a physical DVD) associated with watching a digital movie. A person cannot hold a video file in their hands, either. Downloadable movies will eventually become commonplace, but by no means will they replace their DVD counterparts as the main audiovisual medium because there is very little that is personal about them. Wal-Mart and Superman Returns are changing the face of movies, but it is evident that the public is not willing to let that face be removed.
■ Sean Wilkinson
■ Sean Wilkinson
Superman Returns DVD jacket photo and comments from Kevin Swint provided by walmart.com®
At one point in my early critical efforts, I started (and then stopped, for what ever reason, be it moving, "changing" jobs--read: getting fired for being an impulsive, selfish, immature, stressed-out jerk--being otherwise self-destructive and lazy, or just losing interest in a particular property) giving my thoughts on various television premieres, seasons, and finales in what would eventually become the Stay Tuned series. A twice-occurring subject of this was the Superman prequel series, Smallville (which starred NXIVM collaborator Allison Mack as Clark Kent's friend and gal in the chair, Chloe Sullivan). Both of these Smallville "F Moments" are to follow, as well as my initial thoughts on the much-underappreciated animated series, The Batman (which, to my understanding, does not have any controversial voice actors behind it, making it the only DC property covered here that doesn't have any marks against it. So here, completing the crossover, is
Stay Tuned #47: Smallville's F-Moments, and The Batman
FROM June 15, 2004 (SW@ Ticket #5.5: The WB's F-Moments): This special edition of SWAT Ticket deals with how the WB Fucked up and Finished off its best shows.
...
A-
FROM October 5, 2004 (SWAT Ticket #19.5: New to the WB): The network that brought you reality crap like Superstar USA, showed a shitty finale for a great show like Angel, and ended another fine season of Smallville with a bang is back with more quality and crappiness.
Opening another great season (took 'em long enough) is Smallville. Last time, Lionel Luthor was being fitted for the electric chair, Lex Luthor was committing apparent suicide, Lana Lang was off to Paris, and Clark Kent was finally confronting his Kryptonian father. The season premiere opens with the elder Luthor still alive and in denial, Lex once more paranoid and pissed off at his father for being so evil, Chloe Sullivan apparently dead, Clark posessed by his Kryptonian alter-ego Kal-El, and Chloe's cousin Lois Lane brought into the romance/ intrigue picture like some bad effort to save a 70's era sitcom. However, black kryptonite saves the day, Clark learns he can fly (but is still afraid of heights), the Luthor family struggle continues, and a quick use of x-ray vision reveals at the last minute that Chloe's grave is empty--hinting that she is possibly still alive. Great plot twist (predictable, but great) and reason enough to keep watching. Superman kicks ass!
B+
But in character development, The Batman is superior to its predecessors. I have yet to watch a full episode, but Joker and Penguin have been transformed from merely unusual-looking mob bosses into crazy, scary-looking, kung-fu fighting machines. And to my relief, Joker still has his throwing cards and laughing gas, and Penguin still has his umbrella weapons. The opening credits aren't bad, either. My only question is how old Alfred's voice actor is that he can endure five movies, a season of Birds of Prey (where is season 2 of that by the way?), voice the same cartoon character for seven years, come back for an eighth, and still be alive. Drawing needs improvement, but otherwise a great comeback for the Bat in black.
B
Quote of the week: "I lost my shirt, but I've never deducted my pants"
Wisdom from the wiseass, and perfect for tax season.
Ticketmaster's Notes: Yes, I now realize that the same person did not voice and portray Alfred in every Batman cartoon and pre-Nolan Batman movie. And yes, I was one of the few naive Batman fans who didn't have any experience or die-hard need for source-accuracy from the comics, so I was actually expecting a second season of Birds Of Prey. Silly me! Also, my engagement with The Batman series grew as it went along, up through and including the last season where they tried to make another Justice League show happen. And I only compared it to Spider-Man Unlimited because I was in a hesitant, negative frame of mind when I originally wrote the above review. A more apt comparison, given its simple art style, youthful character designs, high school setting, and year of airing, would be Spectacular Spider-Man. Even the theme songs for both shows rock! The Batman may not be the most comic-accurate series, but it's really underrated. Give it a watch.
Tomorrow, Time Drops...drops for the coming week. I'll try to get as much content scheduled to publish as possible because I need these next weeks to work on my Marketing papers. Thanks for sticking through this content dump, Ticketholders!
Ticketmaster,
Out.
Comments
Post a Comment